Malaysian Army Future Soldier Combat Uniform : Active Camouflage

Original idea by Nami Kuchalana

Active camouflage has its origins in the diffused lighting camouflage first tested on Canadian Navy corvettes during World War II, and later in the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Current systems began with Malaysian Army Future Soldier Combat Uniform (MAFSCU) program which placed low-intensity invisibility device on the BDU.

Active camouflage is rumored to have taken a new turn with the development of the MAFSCU MK II, which apparently took the technology further. (This project was a black project and available data is limited.)

Active camouflage is poised to develop at a rapid pace with the development of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and other technologies which allow for images to be projected onto irregularly-shaped surfaces. With the addition of a camera, an object may not be made completely invisible, but may in theory mimic enough of its surrounding background to avoid detection by the human eye as well as optical sensors.

As motion may still be noticeable, an object might not be rendered undetectable under this circumstance but potentially more difficult to hit. This has been demonstrated during the Defense Service Asia 2010 by Sapura. A demonstration was held where a soldier walk around the exhibition hall with its active camo system switch on at 71% opacity. Heavily guarded by 2 mean looking special forces personnel, most patrons didn't even realize the soldier pass by.